1 §B0: MEALS OF THE'COini<»l PCXIPLB 3K TOWN&
2 ployed to mark time, instea<i of the hours of the dayV which are nev&t
3 mentioned in common discourse. The day is, liowever, divided into»
4 twenty-four hours, which are counted firom six in the momhlg to tt3&
5 in the evening, and then begin again.
6 The year b dhridad into ibur weuoaa m in Europe, 4soinmflneing
7 fiom ihe tenul equinoXs "wbea spring is conridered to he^n. Thd
8 Mahomedan lunar months are most oommonly used, but as they do
9 BGi suit the seasoiis, the signs of the mdiec tie very ofted adopted^
10 and m the east the Hindoo months are better knount than the Mar
11 homedan*
12 To return to the inhalnbtots of towns, the common peqple rise afc
13 Mr, and rqpair to the mosque to pray; Hfter piayers, they goior
14 tiicir shops, which are always disdnct from their houses. In the west,
15 they take a light break&st after prayers, which some do also in the
16 east. At eleven, they eat their luncheon of bread« Vegetables, oirds,'
17 and flesh when they can afford it In summer thej deqp for a txMipIe
18 of hours after their luncheon ; those who hare apprentices to take
19 care of their shops, take their - lancheon and nap at home, which
20 others do at their shops. We are apt to consider this habit as a great
21 jiroof of the laziness of the people in hot climates; hut it is to be
22 remembered that they do not rjn to rv^t till ten or eleven, and in sum-
23 mer (tlie only season when they isleejj m the day)i they rise at half-
24 past three, wincli does not make their whole sleep, including that
25 taken in the day, more than ec^uai to what the most moderate enjoy
26 iu Jb]ngland.
27 Tlie great meal ui all lunkh is called Shawnee^ and is taken aft«r
28 the last prayers. They all bathe, generally twice a-weuk, bnt always
29 on Friday. At Peshawer they often merely wash in the open, air,
30 but in the towns of die cold country, they always use th« Hummaum,
31 or hot bath. These baths have been often described. They oontam
32 three rooms heated to difl^rent temperatures, and in the hottest the
33 bather is scnibbed by the men of the bath, till every partide of dirt
34 «r scurf is cleared off his skitti Ilbe entnnce money is less than »
35 penny, and all the operationa of the balh, uidndingahaving, burning
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